How Can Technology Improve Manufacturing Processes?

The rate of technological progress has become rapid in the last few decades. Across business and consumer applications, there are now sophisticated products that can improve productivity, allow more effective communication to take place, and help to create a more efficient world. In view of this, many manufacturing businesses have also begun to implement and use custom software development for manufacturing industry. Industries in all sectors rely on the latest technology to give them a competitive advantage and to streamline their processes.

In this article there will be a focus on the manufacturing industry and how technology is being used to improve various processes within the sector. Three key examples will be discussed that have helped many different types of manufacturing firms to improve how they produce their goods and operate to the highest levels of efficiency and productivity.

Corrosion-resistant materials in sanitary processes

When most people think of technology in the manufacturing sector, they tend to focus on complex machinery and sophisticated electronics or software platforms. However, consideration should also be given to the modern materials that are used to form production lines in manufacturing operations. For example, the food and drinks manufacturing industry is now heavily reliant on specialist hygienic tubing and fittings in their production lines.

These are commonly made from a complex mix of elements and metals that are combined to produce superaustenitic stainless steel. This material has excellent corrosion-resistance properties to common chlorides that are found in some processed foods, drinks, and in pharmaceutical products. By using superaustenitic stainless steel in production lines, the components do not degrade, which significantly reduces maintenance costs and the need for production line downtime. In addition, there is no risk of corrosion causing the contamination of products, which serves to ensure that the final product is safe for human consumption. This is particularly important for a beverage development company.

AI for predictive monitoring of lines

It is estimated that unplanned downtime in the manufacturing sector can last for four hours per episode on average and may cost larger firms around $2 million in terms of lost productivity. Put simply, downtime represents a significant financial cost for any medium or large-scale manufacturing operation that relies on producing high-output goods. 

Thankfully, AI is increasingly being used to monitor production lines to check for faults before they occur. This technology allows manufacturing businesses to accurately predict when maintenance work or the replacement of production line components need to take place, without experiencing unexpected stoppages. The firms can ensure that replacement parts are ordered, and maintenance staff are ready for the tasks, with an exact understanding of the work that is required. 

Stock control software  

Many manufacturing firms rely on having a precise knowledge of their stock levels and inventory to ensure that they can operate as efficiently as possible. Too much stock will lead to increased storage costs and too little may result in delays in the manufacturing process. Companies are increasingly adopting lean stock control principles to improve efficiency and eliminate wasteful processes. This is aided by using inventory management software. 

This technology gives managers and other stakeholders a complete picture of their stock levels and can be used to support lean methodologies. It may even be used to automate some stock reordering processes that help to achieve greater levels of efficiency.